NEW CONTEST!   PREDICT BOMBERS’ POINTS Win $100 and four brunches on Breeders’ Cup Day! How many points will the basement-dwelling Winnipeg Blue Bombers score in total in their next 10 games?   Will they sizzle or continue to fizzle?  Be as sarcastic or as playful in your prediction as you like.  Email your prediction to theinsider@assiniboiadowns.com BY 7 P.M. TOMORROW (FRIDAY).  Also indicate how many games you think they’ll win in their next 10 games. Your answer will only be used if you’re tied with another entrant for total points. (One entry per person per email address, please. See list of football games at end of column. Bombers play B.C. tomorrow at 9:30 p.m.)   PRIZE:   The person whose prediction comes closest to the Bombers' total points in the next 10 games without going over wins (1) a Breeders' Cup Brunch for four in the Terrace Dining Room on Breeders' Cup Day, Saturday, Nov. 7 and (2) $100 to bet the Breeders' Cup races.   BONUS WEEKLY DRAW:  All entries are eligible for 10 weekly draws at 8 p.m. Fridays at the Downs.  Entrant drawn receives $25 in betting vouchers.  The first draw will be made tomorrow night.  (Entrant must be present to win.)

It's crunch time! Time to take stock.  Live racing ends in exactly one month--Sunday, Sept. 20--with a blizzard of customer appreciation perks and a Texas hold 'em finale that will send someone to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker.  Have you wrung every ounce of fun out of the 2009 live race season or is there still unfinished business you have to hurry to get done?  Here's a 10-point checklist to see what you may have missed:

1. .........  Yes, I have a seat in the poker finale Sept. 20 that could send me to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.  (Qualify by playing free poker on Fridays.  The top three players get into the finale.)

2. .........  Yes, I've earned a discounted entry fee into the final Viva Las Vegas horseplayer challenge Saturday, Sept. 19 that can send me to Las Vegas to compete in a $1 million contest.  (If you haven't, look for Viva Las Vegas entry forms at the track each Saturday.  Predict three winners on that night's card.) 

Time's running out to treat someone special to a race presentation package.

3. ........   Yes, I've treated a special person to the fun of a race-presentation dinner in the Terrace Dining Room that includes a race named in honour of the person (or event) and a Winners' Circle presentation.  (Call 885-3330 to make it happen. Who do you want to impress?  Who's got a birthday, anniversary, retirement, promotion or teeth-cleaning event coming up?  Hurry!  Not many race days left.)

4 ........    Yes, I've watched races from the third floor of the grandstand and taken a peak at the amazing sunsets visible from up there. 

5. ........   Yes, I've strolled through the VLT lounge Saturday night after the races when Allan and Diane are handing out free spins on the Wheel of Fortune with prize money up to $1,000.

6. ........   Yes, I got my fingers all sticky munching on barbeque ribs and chicken wings during Wednesday night live racing. (Only four Wednesdays left!)

7. ........   Yes, I've walked over to the paddock before a race to watch horses being saddled and paraded. (Can you spot potential winning horses from their body language?)

8. ........   Yes, I've gone on the Saturday morning backstretch breakfast tour.  (If not, the final one goes Saturday, Sept. 5 at 9:30 a.m.  Sign up at Guest Services for $5.  Visit restricted places including press box, jock's room, talk to trainers, visit horses and wolf down a hearty breakfast in the horsemen's kitchen.)

9. ........   Yes, I've found out what it's like to sit in a carrel in the Clubhouse where there's a wall of giant TV's in front of me and I have the use of my own private TV.  And, yes, I can imagine that place as my secret getaway in the middle of winter, enjoying hot soup while watching races from Florida, California, Arizona and other southern climes.

10. .......  Yes, I'm thinking about coming out to watch yearlings being auctioned off on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 2:00 p.m. on the main floor of the grandstand.  (Pick up a yearling sale book free at Guest Services.  The auction is fun to watch and a $9.95 buffet lunch is offered.)

If you checked all ten, you're a well-rounded racing aficionado with an appreciation for both the small thrills of life and with the potential to live large.  If you have some catching up to do--on your mark, get set.........   MAKE IT HAPPEN!

TRAINER HIT WITH DOUBLE WHAMMY

Commission upholds DQ of horse that went down

It’s been an emotional roller-coaster for talented 22-per-cent trainer Tanya Lindsay.  And unfortunately, it's ended in a downer.  BOTH of her horses were disqualified in a

Trainer Tanya Lindsay Smiling through a broken heart

$17,000 stakes race for 2-year-old quarter horses three weeks ago. Filly Sin City Queen, who finished first, was set down to fourth.  And gelding Snowy Serenade, who finished third, was set down to fifth. The two horses had sandwiched a horse at the start of the race.

But, what was worse, Sin City Queen broke down right after crossing the finish line and had to be euthanized.  So it was a heartbroken Tanya who pleaded to the Manitoba Horse Racing Commission last Thursday to give Sin City its rightful mark in history. "My horse gave up her life winning the race," she said, holding back tears.  She alluded to many videos from quarter horse races at other tracks where worse cases of interference resulted in no disqualifications.

Commission chairman David Miles was sympathetic. "I hate double disqualifications,” he said.  And he wondered whether the other disqualified horse should shoulder all the blame.  But, in the end, the three-member commission upheld the stewards' contention that both of her horses were equally culpable. 

Tanya had one last chance in a $16,000 quarter horse race last Saturday to overcome her tragic quarter horse luck.  Snowy Serenade, after being disqualified in his previous race, tried valiantly but could finish no better than second, a position worth only 20 per cent of the purse. Hollywood-type endings, unfortunately, can only be counted on in the movies.  We feel your pain, Tanya! 
 

WINNERS' CORNER

Will family be happier than Triple Q winner?

Dad's Triple Q Challenge contest win last Friday may mean more to his family than to Dad himself.  Now family members won't have to watch racing all the time because pressman Rolando dela Merced has promised to use his $200 in winnings to buy a TV for himself so he can watch racing while his family selects programs of their choosing on the other set. Rolando correctly predicted the quinellas in races 3 to 5 to pocket the entire pool.  Winners of $50 consolation cash on other days: salesman/jockey agent Mark Drabing, retired banker/horse owner Marie White

King, Poker King

KING AGAIN, KING FOREVER:  Wayne is poker king for the second time, having paired his ace and 7 in his final winning hand at last Friday's weekly poker tournament.  But he'll always be king--because his last name is King.  When he's not winning at poker, King is investing in race horses and selling MTS services.  He picked up $100 for his win and will be playing in the Sept. 20 poker finale.  The runners-up were:  Refrigeration technician Duane Jarvis ($50) and welder Felix Berthelette ($25).

PHELPS WINS SUNDAY TOURNEY:  Sheet metal worker/horseowner Trevor Phelps won Sunday’s Saratoga/Del Mar horseplayer contest, increasing his $40 bankroll to $73.60.  He won  $250 and is a step closer to being named Horseplayer of the Year.  Runners-up:  Postal carrier Murray Chaban won $100 for increasing his bankroll to $64.40; teacher/horseowner Grant Buckoski picked up  $50 for accumulating a bankroll of $58.10.  Nice going, guys. 
 

INSTA-FRAME FANTASTIC FAN:  B.C. resident Joel Perkins was the initial winner last week on Wednesday but then his horse was disqualified, making Dave Smook the real winner.  Are you appealing the DQ to the world court, Joel?

SATURDAY SUPER-SPIN WHEEL OF FORTUNE:  Warehouse worker Warren Pelletier spun a nice pick-up of $200 in the VLT lounge after Saturday's live races.  Top 20 players at the Triple Q Challenge game plus 10 VLT players get to spin for up to $1,000 every Saturday night.

IS THIS YOU?  These are winners of $25 each in the weekly post-Derby Day draws: Kim Geswein, Tony Maksymchuk, Debbie Enns & Janet Kuhlman   If your name is here, present I.D. at the Guest Services counter during live racing tomorrow or Saturday to claim your prize. 

Ivan:  Re:  Map for Sandy Graham grave in last week's Insider.  There is no section 85

Fields of Honour at Brookside Cemetery

on the map. The highest I could find is 83.  P.S. Love the articles.  -- Angie Childerhose

Sorry, Angie, the 16-year-old jockey's gravesite is actually in section 82 of Brookside Cemetery.  Here's the map again.  By the way, driving through Brookside Cemetery is well worth it just to see the well-tended, beautifully landscaped Fields of Honour for those killed in the World Wars. Poignant to read the gravestones, seeing the youthful ages of those who died. 

Ivan:  The stewards at Hastings also do the official placings as well.  No placing judges here. – Dan Jukich (race-caller)

TIP O' THE WEEK:  Tough going?  Think Yang.

Y.E. Yang: Grace under pressure

It's not that South Korean Y.E.Yang beat the best golfer in the world, Tiger Woods, in the PGA tournament Sunday, it's how he hit his second-last shot of the game that should be an inspiration to all of us in times we're under pressure.  Leading by only one stroke over Woods in the final hole, Yang grabbed his hybrid 3-iron and, with the eyes of the entire world of golf on him, hit a masterful shot from a tricky lie that sailed over a tree and landed only a dozen feet from the pin.  No choking.  No caving under the Tiger legacy.  So, when you're feeling the heat in whatever you do, in horseplayer tournaments or otherwise, suck it up and think Yang.  I nominate him for patron saint of grace under pressure.

UPCOMING EVENTS:  Enjoy Canadian Derby Saturday 
WIN $250 FOR PREDICTING TOP 5: The $300,000 Canadian Derby, the richest race in western Canada, runs this Saturday at Northlands Park with a competitive 12-horse

Can Theglow upset?

field. How will Manitoba longshot, Theglow, perform against horses from Woodbine and California? Predict the top five finishers in the correct order and win $250 or win $100 for coming closest! Special early post time for Northlands' biggest day of racing: Noon.

"EXTREME DAY" COMING:  The shortest race, the longest race, a race for the oldest horses, a race for all gray horses, a race that pits Manitoba-bred horses with horses bred in Saskatchewan, North Dakota and Minnesota.  The Great Mascot Race.  That's what's being arranged for ASD's first Extreme Day to be held on the Labour Day holiday--Monday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m.    If you like afternoon racing, that's your second-last chance to enjoy it.  The final afternoon of racing is Sunday, Sept. 20, the last day of the 2009 live race meet.

Here's a listing of the next 10 Winnipeg Blue Bomber games.  How many points in total will they score in those games?

(1)  Winnipeg at B.C., Friday, Aug. 21, 9:30 p.m.
(2) Winnipeg at Sask, Sunday, Sept. 6, 3 p.m.
(3) Sask at Winnipeg, Sunday, Sept. 13, 3 p.m.
(4) Winnpeg at Montreal, Sunday, Sept. 20, noon 
(5) Toronto at Winnipeg, Saturday, Sept. 26, 8 p.m.  (6) Edmonton at Winnipeg, Fri., Oct. 2, 6:30 p.m. 
(7) Winnipeg at Hamilton, Monday, Oct. 12, 3:30 p.m.  (8) B.C. at Winnipeg, Sunday, Oct. 18, 4 p.m.  (9)  Montreal at Winnipeg, Saturday, Oct. 24, 1:30 p.m.  (10) Winnipeg at Montreal, Sunday, Nov. 1 noon.  (For your information:  The regular season ends--perhaps mercifully for the Bombers--the following Sunday when they play Hamilton at home Sunday, Nov. 8, at noon.  Store your paper bag for next year?)